You'll Be Okay

Chapter 3

On Thursday, Reid sat next to me in class.

I glanced at him in surprise, to which he responded with a scowl and propped his feet on the table. The silence stretched out in front of us as he leisurely flipped through one of the recipe books we were studying for the semester. I wasn't sure when exactly my phone started buzzing with texts from Tyler but when it began, it didn't stop. I counted thirteen messages before Reid threw the recipe book down on the table and shot me a dirty look.

"Someone's popular today."

"Oh," I said lamely and turned my phone off. "Wrong number."

Reid popped his gum in response and Mr Creed peered at him.

"Mr Castellan, you know the rules."

Reid paused and then heaved a dramatic sigh, getting out of his seat. And then, to my horror, he sauntered right past the trash can sitting by the teacher's desk and walked out of the classroom. I looked to Mr Creed but the old man didn't even bat an eyelash.

Don't do it, I advised myself. He is not your problem. Tyler would never even know.

Then, against my better judgement, I perfected a pained grimace and raised my hand. "Mr Creed? I'm not feeling well. Can I go to the nurses' office?"

He nodded absently, without looking up.

I quickly set off, looking left and right down the corridor and cursing Reid to the inner depths of hell. He had disappeared in the span of thirty seconds and I had no clue where he went. I headed for the parking lot first, just to check if his famous flashy Porsche was still here.

That's when the doors slammed open and four very familiar figures walked out. Leading the pack was Reid and he halted, eyes narrowing at the sight of me.

"...stay out of it!" Tyler was ranting, waving his arms like a madman. "Do you want your brother to hate you? You need to let him live his life - let Lee make his own mistakes."

When Reid ignored him, Tyler grabbed the front of his shirt and instinctively, Reid swung his fist into Tyler's jaw. It all happened quickly but it was just any other Thursday for Jarred as he stepped between the two of them. There were a few beats of silence as they glared at one another, the tension hanging in the air.

At this point, I was ready to sit this one out - but then Dennis tossed something to me which I caught a second before they hit the ground. I found myself holding the keys to Reid's black Porsche. I chuckled nervously, waiting for an angry outburst but Reid was already whipping out his phone to call a chauffeur.

"You can't fight every battle for him," Dennis said suddenly.

"Don't start." Reid's face grew cold, jaw locking stubbornly. His dark hair had fallen into his eyes, curling at the ends as he looked down at his phone. "You're a smart guy, Sinclair. But don't even start on the lectures right now. I've got Blair and James and Kade for that."

"You let your younger brother lecture you?" Jarred gaped.

"He needs breathing space," Dennis went on, unfazed. He was even brave enough to take a step closer to Reid. "He's only fifteen and he's been through some shit. You'll make things worse."

"This is between me and Chase Anderson."

I recognised the name immediately.

Captain of St Joseph's Preparatory's soccer team and Reid's arch nemesis since the beginning of time, I'd never had any personal run-ins with Chase but most people knew of him. Like most rivals, it started off with bruised egos but has since escalated.